The Issue: Does applying Colorado's public accommodations law the compel Masterpiece Cakeshop owner to create a product that violates his religious beliefs about marriage violate his freedom of speech protected under the first amendment?

The Supreme Court's decision could have massive implications...

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In 2012, a same-sex couple walked into Masterpiece Cakeshop with the intention of ordering a wedding cake. But the owner would not create the wedding cake, stating that it would be against his religious beliefs. He did state that he offered any other cake or product in the store, but he would not use his artistic ability to create a wedding cake for an inherently religious ceremony he did not believe in.

Aside from the freedom of religion argument, this case is asking another question: If a baker, a chef, or even a tailor, as Justice Gorsuch questioned, creates a product deemed a work of art, is it protected under free speech? If so, can they decide who they will serve and where do you draw the line?

Can the government force them to use their artistic ability to support something they do not? Does food as an artistic expression fall under your right to freedom of speech? Should businesses be held to a different standard as a service to their community?

Foodable Network

Foodable is the premier Network for the Restaurant and Hospitality industry. As the leading producer of Social TV, we reach hundreds of thousands of social connections that are targeted operators, foodies, chefs, suppliers, and consumers that thrive on learning more about the industry. Though quickly growing, the Foodable Network, featured on YouTube and iTunes, currently hosts seven shows: Table 42, Rock My Restaurant, Across the Bar, Food as a Lifestyle, On Foodable, Fast Casual Nation and more!

News by US City

The way it works

Our Foodable Top 25 restaurant rankings are not hand-selected or chosen by an editor. These lists are based off of unstructured data from Foodable Labs, which tracks over 171K restaurants and brands, and calculates data based on the mass social audience across multiple markets and countries. The Foodable Top 25 drills down into the local-social audience, or geo-located social actions, in each respective city or market we cover. We seek the real social impact of what people think about the experience of your restaurant at the local level.